Buccaneers Quotes: Friday, August 28, 2015

(On whether wide receiver Kenny Bell was able to practice today) “No, he was not. Kenny tweaked his hamstring yesterday. He will be down for a while. I shouldn’t say tweaked a hamstring. Kenny has a hamstring [injury]. So for as far as how long, I have no idea.”

(On if Bell will sit out the remaining two preseason games) “He’s not playing this week. I know that for a fact. The rest of it, we’ll see how it plays out.”

(On if he has seen enough of Bell to make a fair evaluation) “We’ve seen him, but we would like to have seen more of him, especially right now and the next couple of weeks. Have we seen enough? No, it’s not like he’s done enough right now where we say we definitely know what direction to go. None of the young players have. Injuries are part of it. Right now we’ll just evaluate him based on what we know right now.”

(On safety Chris Conte back at practice) “And yesterday also, so he’s come back. He has fresh legs. [Conte], T.J. Fatinikun, those guys look like they just started training camp. Both of them can move around fairly well just in general. Chris has looked good. He will play this week.”

(On offensive linemen Jeremiah Warren moving up the depth chart at center) “Well, we were able to run our offense first and that’s what you want – a smooth transition. You don’t want to notice the center as much as anything and that’s what happened last week. I thought Jeremiah did some good things. It’s all about being ready when that opportunity comes. If you are on this roster you are going to get a chance to do that. He took advantage of it last week. Hopefully we can get him some more reps this week.”

(On if Warren is ahead of other backup interior linemen because he can play guard and center) “He’s right where he should be and in the mix competing for a roster spot.”

(On what sort of progress he is looking for in the third preseason game) “Just progress as much as anything. The effort we put out last week, you don’t want to go back you want to go forward with it. Starting off team-wise of correcting the amount of penalties we had. That’s something we have to do. [There is a] big emphasis on it. There is an emphasis on it before the game. We can’t beat ourselves like that. From there we are going to play our guys longer. Traditionally the third preseason game, we would like for the [starters] to come out at the half and at least get a series or so in then. That’s what we plan on doing this game.”

KICKER CONNOR BARTH

(On returning to Tampa) “It’s been fun. It’s just one of those things – I’m just trying to come in and help the team. The familiarity was here and I’m just comfortable here. I made my choice and I’m looking forward to putting on the pads tomorrow night and going back out there. I played a bunch of games in there so it will be fun. Kind of a cool thing to see again.”

(On getting used to a new snapper and holder) “Luckily I had Mike Glennon too last year, when we were here in camp and we had DePo [Andrew DePaola], so it’s pretty easy to just get back into it and just roll with it. When you play in the game, everything just kind of takes over and you just go out there and do your thing. It’s nothing different, just keep your head down and make good contact and trust in your swing and hopefully it goes through. Luckily I know the wind and all that stuff in that stadium tomorrow night, so I should be able to hit the ball well. That’s all you can really do.”

(On the 33-yard extra points the league implemented this season) “You’re just hoping that I add a little more value at the kicking position, someone who’s accurate. I wanted just to narrow the uprights. I thought it would be cooler just to be able to really – it would make play-calling different, it would just make guys who are a little bit more accurate than they are big legs really thrive. It’s kind of funny how you line up now in practice and games and you’re like “This is for one point?” On extra points, last year and years before, you could kind of just take it for granted and just go out there and swing. Now you’ve really kind of got to focus in – especially if it gets blocked or something, they can return it for points. It’s a big difference in the game. You’ve just got to really go out there and concentrate. It’s still 33-yards, so you’re expected – and I expect myself – to make that every time. I still want to try and keep that intact and just help this team however I can.”

(On how he has dealt with the last few years) “You’ve still got to look at it like you’re blessed to still play. It’s kind of still fun. I used to take it for granted a little bit, coming out of practice every day, but now I enjoy every day I come out here because you never know when it’s going to be your last. I’ve actually had the chance to work on some stuff off the field, from a different standpoint – entrepreneurial stuff – so I’m just kind of looking at stuff past football now because you just never know how long it’s going to last. It’s been fun. Luckily I have a great supporting cast in my family. My parents will be down tomorrow – they never miss a game, no matter where it is. It’s been good. It’s been crazy, but that’s the NFL. It stands for ‘Not For Long.’ That’s the way I look at it. It’s been a good ride and you’ve just got to enjoy it.”

(On the competition between Barth and kicker Patrick Murray) “Pat and I are good friends. We came in and talked immediately – nothing about football, just kind of about life and stuff. It’s very rare that one guy stays with a team for their whole career anymore. It used to be something [that happened], that’s just the way it is. You come in and it’s a business. You’ve got to look at it like that. You’re just trying to build the best team you can to hopefully win a Super Bowl. We just come in and shake hands, we compete and laugh and have fun off the field. That’s just the way it is. I’ve been through a lot of teams, a lot coaches now. I’ve met a lot of specialists. I always say I’m, going to treat people the way I want to be treated, no matter what. I haven’t come in here any different, with any kind of attitude or anything. Just come in here [and] say ‘Hi, what’s up, man?’ and we’re just kind of back to where it was. Almost feels like déjà vu from last year. It’s been fun. It’s great to put these colors on. This is kind of where I feel most comfortable, so it’s cool to be back out here.”

(On if he will handle kickoffs against Cleveland) “I’m not sure yet, we’ll have to see. That’ll kind of be just a gametime thing, when the coaches sit down and see how we’re going to do it. I’m up for anything and hopefully I can show what I can do on kickoffs and stuff like that. I’m ready to do whatever, to just go out there and do my best.”